Former Northbridge cop avoids jail time

Monday

Mar 11, 2013 at 2:00 PMMar 11, 2013 at 11:23 PM

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

A former Northbridge police officer who pleaded guilty to charges of driving drunk and causing a head-on collision that left another man seriously injured was spared a jail sentence. He was instead placed on probation today, at the urging of the victim and his family.

Joshua Nadeau, 43, of 18 Danielle Drive, Millbury, was placed on probation for 3 years after pleading guilty in Worcester Superior Court to charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury, driving so as to endanger and filing a false crime report.

Mr. Nadeau was identified by investigators as the driver of a 1993 Ford F250 pickup truck that crossed the center line on Douglas Road in Northbridge about 11:30 p.m. Oct.. 6, 2011, and collided head-on with a 2000 Volkswagen Passat driven by Dennis E. Guertin of Douglas.

Mr. Guertin, who was taken by Life Flight helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus in Worcester, suffered hip, knee, thigh and rib fractures and lacerations.

Mr. Nadeau and a passenger in his truck, Elizabeth Hubert, 30, of 9 West St., Northbridge, were also injured. Mr. Nadeau and Ms. Hubert, who was also placed on probation today after pleading guilty to filing a false crime report, both told police that she was behind the wheel of the truck at the time of the crash, according to Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey T. Travers.

The prosecutor said civilian witnesses saw the two switch seats before police arrived at the accident scene. A 17-year police veteran who was off-duty at the time of the crash, Mr. Nadeau resigned from the Northbridge Police Department in December 2011.

The 3-year period of probation for Mr. Nadeau that was imposed by Judge David Ricciardone was recommended by Mr. Travers and Mr. Nadeau's lawyer, James J. Gribouski, as well as by Mr. Guertin and his family.

“We're looking to forgive,” Mr. Guertin's wife, Mary Guertin, said in an impact statement in which she specifically told the court she and her family did not want Mr. Nadeau to go to jail. Mr. and Mrs. Guertin were accompanied in court by their two teenage sons, Domanic and Cameron Guertin, and lawyer Richard J. Rafferty Jr., who represents the family civilly in the case.

Mr. Guertin, who is employed as a custodian in the Westboro public schools and was on his way home from work at the time of the crash, has since undergone hip replacement surgery and still walks with a cane and a limp. Mr. Rafferty said Mr. Guertin has incurred about $600,000 in medical expenses.

Mrs. Guertin described the crash as “a tragic accident,” but said she knew Mr. Nadeau did not set out that night with the idea of intentionally harming anyone.

“When mercy is shown, mercy is given,” Mr. Guertin added.

As conditions of probation, Mr. Nadeau was ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and any related treatment deemed appropriate by the court, to refrain from the use of illegal drugs or alcohol, to seek and gain employment and to perform 400 hours of community service.

Judge Ricciardone told the Guertins that he was moved by their strength, compassion and willingness to forgive and said he believed the attitude they had displayed would go a long way toward helping the family heal both physically and emotionally.

The judge told Mr. Nadeau his decision not to reject the plea agreement and insist that the former police officer go to jail was “largely due to the mercy of the Guertins.”

Ms. Hubert was placed on probation for one year and was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. Her lawyer, Peter L. Ettenberg, told the judge that Ms. Hubert, a single mother, was involved in a relationship with Mr. Nadeau when the accident occurred, and lied to police only because she was trying to protect him.

Mr. Travers said Mr. Nadeau and Ms. Hubert had been to a bar in Douglas and to a restaurant with a liquor license before the accident.

Judge Ricciardone suggested Mr. Nadeau and Ms. Hubert might fulfill their community service obligations by speaking to high school students about the dangers of drunken driving, or by volunteering at a program for people suffering from head trauma.

Attempting to commit a crime (misleading a police investigation) charges against Mr. Nadeau and Ms. Hubert were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, as was a charge against Mr. Nadeau of driving negligently or recklessly while under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury.

Mr. Nadeau approached Mr. Guertin outside the courtroom after the plea hearing, shook his hand and said, “Mr. Guertin, I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize.”